Background
The Engadin region is renowned for its magnificent scenery, its winter sports and the glamour of the international jet set that gathers in St. Moritz every year. Yet, amidst all this blink and excitement, it is easy to forget that it is also a place that has always attracted artists and thinkers, nurturing a climate of art and debate. Friedrich Nietzsche lived in Sils Maria. Writers such as Marcel Proust, Paul Celan, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jean Cocteau and Thomas Bernhard followed his footsteps, as did academics such as Theodor Adorno, Ernst Bloch and Albert Einstein, filmmakers like Claude Chabrol and Luchino Visconti. The Italian painter Giovanni Segantini lived in Maloja for several years and the Giacometti family from the neighbouring Val Bregaglia always had close ties with the Engadin.
In 2000 the Walter A. Bechtler Foundation together with the Zurich University of the Arts launched Art Public Plaiv, with the aim of installing contemporary art works in public spaces, between La Punt and Madulain, S-Chanf and Zuoz. So far, these include works by Fischli/Weiss, Tadashi Kawamata, Ken Lum, Jenny Holzer, Sol LeWitt, Lawrence Weiner, Martin Kippenberger, James Turell and others. Moreover, new works are constantly being created at Hotel Castell in Zuoz – including a bar designed by Pipilotti Rist. Art Weekends are held regularly at the hotel, involving contemporary and emerging artists, and it is also the venue for the annual Collectors’ Day’s, which attract artists and collectors from all over Europe. The Fundaziun Nairs Art Cultura Engiadina runs a cultural centre with an Artists-in-residence Programme in Nairs. In 2008, the "Arte Bregaglia" exhibition brought contemporary and emerging art to the Bregaglia valley. And several galleries specialising in contemporary and emerging art have been opened in Zuoz and the surrounding area.
These cultural and artistic initiatives show the potential of the Engadin region. With its platform for exchange and conversation E.A.T. provides a valuable contribution to the cultural needs of inhabitants and these many international guests and in addition gives space for the creation of something new and unique.